As a massive Samcro fan, from the first day he set foot on a racecourse, I will be surprised should he be good enough to win the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March.

That was an interesting feature, written by Daragh Ó Conchúir, on trainer Tom Mullins, in last Saturday’s Irish Field.

When it comes to taking the piddle out of punters no one can quite manage it as well as off-course bookmakers, says Pat Keane.

A year ago, we gave 10 horses to follow for the National Hunt season and it worked out reasonably well, so it makes sense to have another go.

We know there has been something of a cloud hanging over the Ballydoyle horses for a while now, with Aidan O’Brien reporting that the bug was “the worst we’ve had.’’

I can’t imagine the handicapper derived a whole lot of enjoyment watching the concluding stages of the €59,000 to the winner Connacht Hotel Handicap at Galway on Monday night, writes Pat Keane.

We have written here before that trainer, Ger Lyons, needs to find a Group 1 horse to carry his progressive career to the next level.

Isn’t US Navy Flag one of the most extraordinary horses in the history of flat racing?

When Dessie Scahill puts down his binoculars at the end of the Curragh Derby meeting this afternoon he will surely do so with a sense of real sadness.

Can Aidan O’Brien deliver for punters at the five-day Royal Ascot extravaganza, which starts next Tuesday? asks Pat Keane